SB Nation User Blog: Direckshun

Kcchiefs.com posted a fairly underwhelming interview with Derrick Johnson yesterday. I don't claim to be an expert in how to extract information from professional athletes, but as we saw on Hard Knocks last year, athletes are coached to be cordial and avoidant. So I would do everything I can to knock them off their guard, to get them to reveal actual nuggets of information rather than that candy-coated crap they're always feeding us.

It's an unofficial job of mine to read this crap, and it doesn't get any easier when the questions line up like this:

Q: How’s it going for you now that your in your third week of OTAs and you start mini- camp on Friday?

Q. What is like to not only have Gunther as your defensive coordinator, but also your linebackers coach?

Q: Sometimes you start out real strong then things trail off. Is this the year for you?

Q: That word consistency seems to be that word because Brodie (Croyle) used it as well about his play and that everybody has to consistent?

THAT LAST ITEM ISN'T EVEN A QUESTION. But it's got a question mark nonetheless.

It's been several years now since we've drafted Derrick Johnson, and there's not a lot I can tell you about his tenure that you don't already know. His play has alternated between brilliant and ordinary. The sky is blue.

But the continual talk about Derrick Johnson during his time as a Chief has been that he's "developing." This was an adjective I'd hoped we'd stop using after his second year, but coming into his fourth year, we're still hearing it. And oddly enough, it's appropriate. The guy is still developing, because even after 2007, easily his best to date, there is still a lot of things this guy can do.

Ever since his rookie year ended, I've been the guy saying "DJ's going to explode!!!1 this year" every single offseason, only to be proven wrong.

Well this year, he truly is going to explode. And I'm not just saying that to say it. I'm saying it because I truly believe, and will argue thusly, that Derrick Johnson will be a Pro Bowl linebacker in 2008. Quote it, buy it, print it. I'll offer three gigantic reasons why.

The first reason is that there is a lot of buzz out right now that DJ is finally making the move from strongside to weakside linebacker. This a move that is significant not only in the statistics he's going to accumulate, but in his ability to impact games. The strongside linebacker is typically responsible for more pass coverage and less freedom to roam than the weakside is -- largely to account for the tight end. The strongside linebacker typically rushes the backfield where the most blockers are, and has to attack the QB in his line of vision.

DJ has been nearly elite in pass coverage, and locked down on tight ends all year -- few tight ends had big games on the Chiefs. But DJ's specialty is getting behind the line of scrimmage and getting to the QB. The weakside allows DJ to do it without entering the QB's line of vision, and it doesn't weigh him down with coverage assignments nearly as much as the strongside would. This allows DJ to create more havoc.

The second reason DJ will make the Pro Bowl is more negative for the Chiefs as a team: he is surrounded with the weakest linebacker talent that he's seen in his years as a Chief (as hard as we strive on AP for continuity, this is a point where Chris and I disagree). Donnie Edwards is another year older at a position that doesn't age particularly well, and Donnie may be playing at middle linebacker anyway to cover for Napoleon Harris, who's performance has been so underwhelming, offenses are apparently gameplanning to attack him. DeMorrio Williams is a question mark more than anything, and from there it's a cluster of UDFAs and castoffs, all of them promising but none of them proven.

It's an adage that's seen across all levels of football: surround a linebacker with better and better players, and his numbers and the sheer amount of plays he can make will decrease. If you surround a linebacker with elite talent, there's less Superman plays he has to make to keep his team competitive. What you're seeing in 2008 is a weak lineup that backs up a defensive line that's riddled with questions itself, and DJ will be provided every opportunity to statistically erupt.

The third and last reason that DJ will be a Pro Bowler in 2008 is that he's already played like one last year. I believe that DJ was a Top 5 strongside linebacker last year. But every OLB that made the AFC Pro Bowl squad came from a 3-4 defense, which provides their OLBs to rush the QB with abandon and put up huge numbers.

So with all of the above reasons, a little friendly exposure from the media, and some luck, I fearlessly predict that DJ will become the first Chiefs linebacker to make the Pro Bowl since our own patron saint, Derrick Thomas.

Who's with me?

Poll

Derrick Johnson. Discuss.

Brian Waters (Kansas City Chiefs) - The cream of the crop - unti Kris Dielman gets a little more ...

Direckshun — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:53:27 -0000

Brian Waters (Kansas City Chiefs) - The cream of the crop - unti Kris Dielman gets a little more experience. Waters is a 3-time Pro Bowler (2005, 2006, 2007) and a two-time All Pro (2005, 2006). He was even the AFC Player of the Week once after the Chiefs rang up nearly 23,000,000 yards on the ground (my memory may be a little fuzzy, but it sure seemed like that much). Although he’s getting older, he is still productive. He’s a respected voice in the locker room too, something a young team like the Chiefs desperately needs.

Home of the Chiefs | MVN - a Kansas City Chiefs blog

The Bad Kansas City —It seems like the Chiefs have only been spoken about in glowing terms sinc...

Direckshun — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:24:38 -0000

The Bad

Kansas City —It seems like the Chiefs have only been spoken about in glowing terms since the draft, but it'll take more than a new left tackle to fix their blocking issues of 2007. Branden Albert became a hot name in the draft buildup and has apparently impressed early, but he has yet to perform in pads and has never played a high-level season at left tackle.

His addition pushes vagabond Damion McIntosh - who reportedly played solidly in 2007 - to right tackle, where the Kyle Turley experiment went about as badly as expected. Brian Waters should remain a gem at guard, but starting center Casey Wiegmann was allowed to leave. Rudy Niswanger appears to be his replacement, but the third-year player has yet to start an NFL game. If Albert proves to be for real, there could be a big leap in K.C., but I'm certainly not ready to count on it. Even if he doesn't, though, Larry Johnson remains a first-round pick.

ProFantasySports.com -- Evaluating every offensive line in the NFL.

Wearing Jerseys Uncool?

Direckshun — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:57:01 -0000

I was listening to Mike & Mike in the Morning this morning and they were laughing at hockey fans, who all seem to wear jerseys to hockey matches. They laughed at the idea that wearing a jersey with another player's name on the back who may very likely be younger than you is a fashion faux pa.

I'm not real sure when M&M became concerned with fashion statements, but they just feel like jerseys are something you wear when you're a kid, then you become an adult and they are no longer "cool."

They then answered a bunch of mail from viewers and scoffed at them as they suggested that wearing jerseys are a perfectly acceptable form of attire.

I personally think M&M got a little snobby here. Anybody agree?

Poll

What's your take on wearing football jerseys?

Gosselin Chimes In: Chiefs' Youth Movement "Intriguing"

Direckshun — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:09:39 -0000

I don't know how many of you out there are draftniks, but I highly recommend converting. I can remember becoming engaged in the Draft season as soon as the Jets game concluded in 2007.

There hasn't been a very strong undercurrent of interest in the Draft during the Vermeil years in Kansas City, and for good reason: draft picks were bargaining chips more than they were opportunities to bring in talent.

But of the many things you could charge Herm Edwards with, the one that's certain is that his administration has made the NFL Draft fun again for Kansas City Chiefs fans. Its now rewarding to be familiar with 250+ potential Draftees because you can be assured now that the coaching staff is studying the same people you are. The Draft hasn't been the Chiefs' only source of the youth movement during the Herm Edwards era, but it has been the backbone of it.

Dallas Morning News' Rick Gosselin, who's the veritable King of the Draftniks, has duly pimped the Chiefs youth movement in today's paper, calling the Chiefs "one of the more intriguing off-season stories in 2008." As a guy who's expertise is on the Draft, it makes sense that he loves what the Chiefs are trying to build:

The Chiefs have been ancient by NFL standards this decade. From 2000 to '06, the average age of the Kansas City roster was 27-plus years. From 2002 to '07, the average age of the starting lineup was 28-plus years.

Dick Vermeil was the head coach of the Chiefs most of the decade. He preferred older players. Veterans don't make the mistakes that beat themselves. As long as the Chiefs were a viable playoff contender, general manager Carl Peterson bought into Vermeil's philosophy.

Now Vermeil is gone, the Chiefs are no longer contenders and Peterson is embracing the philosophy of his next head coach, Herman Edwards: Go young.

Edwards earned his coaching wings as an assistant on Tony Dungy's staff at Tampa Bay. Dungy is the Godfather of the draft 'em/play 'em philosophy. The best way to make a young player better is to put him on the field.

Gosselin continues:

Five players from Edwards' first draft class in 2006 are now starters and a sixth from the Class of 2007 has joined them (WR Dwayne Bowe).

The Chiefs selected two defensive tackles in the first day of the 2007 draft, Turk McBride in the second round and Tank Tyler in the third, and one of them figures to start in 2008. That would give the Chiefs seven draft picks from the Edwards era in the lineup.

The Chiefs injected 12 more young players into the roster in April and three of them are walk-in starters: first-rounders Glenn Dorsey (DT) and Brandon Albert (OT) and second-rounder Brandon Flowers (CB). That would be 10 starters in three drafts since Edwards became coach.

The key draft pick of the Edwards era is quarterback Brodie Croyle, a third-rounder in 2006. He figures to open his first season a starter in 2008. If he proves to be the answer at quarterback, the Chiefs are on their way back to contention, be it 2008 or 2009.

But at least now you can see the plan – and Dungy has proven the plan works.

Now Gosselin is not the be-all, end-all of NFL commentary, but his perspective as a draftnik does shine a really impressive light on how the Chiefs' three Drafts under Herm have panned out.

2006 NFL Draft

DE Tamba Hali (1st), S Bernard Pollard (2nd), QB Brodie Croyle (3rd),
CB Marcus Maxey (5th), OG Tre Stallings (6th), WR Jeff Webb (6th), S Jared Page (7th).

This Draft got the Herm Edwards era off to a very strong start. If you can grab three good starters out of the Draft with maybe a Pro Bowl player thrown in, you've had a good Draft.

The potential kingpin of the 2006 Draft could either be Hali, whose been impressive but slowed with some injuries at DE, or Page, whose led this team in interceptions ever since he's been on the team. Either have the capability to become Pro Bowlers at this juncture.

Pollard has some developing to do, but by my measure he's been fairly strong at starting safety. Webb is on the outside looking in at winning the #2 WR spot, but he's likely got the slot wrapped up. As for Croyle... well, we've discussed him ad nauseum on this site.

Maxey was a Cover 2 corner bust, sadly, but Stallings may be making a comeback. Stallings has been cut by this team, but he's also been brought back in and clamped down on the practice squad. There's been some positive buzz around Stallings, as he's been lining up on the B squad and was even picked to substitute in for Brian Waters a few days ago with the A squad.

4 starters (Hali, Pollard, Croyle, Page)
2 backups (Stallings, Webb)
1 bust (Maxey)

2007 NFL Draft

WR Dwayne Bowe (1st), DT Turk McBride (2nd), DT Tank Tyler (3rd), RB Kolby Smith (5th), K Justin Medlock (5th), OT Herb Taylor (6th), TE Michael Allan (7th).

The 2007 Draft depends a lot on how McBride and Tyler stack up. Both had disappointingly underwhelming rookie seasons, especially McBride who, despite a few moments early on in the season, completely disappeared later on at both DE and DT. Tyler, once thought to be a steal by Chiefs fans, was so invisible in 2007 that he was even deactivated one game. It's too early to write them off, especially Tyler, but most depth chart predictions have Tyler listed as a backup DT and nobody quite agrees where McBride is going to go. But methinks McBride is a bust.

The kingpin of the 2007 Draft is unquestionably Dwayne Bowe, who I predict will likely emerge from the Herm Edwards era as his best pick. Plucked in the bottom of the 1st, Bowe has exuded talent that should have been deserving of a Top 10 pick. All this with little help at QB, other WRs, and the worst offense in the NFL. There's little you can't say about how great a pick he was.

Taylor, Allan, and Smith have all been pleasant surprises on this team. Herb Taylor looked very good subbing in at LT for a couple games his rookie season, and I loved the kid so much I've personally campaigned for him to start. Allan looked like a brilliant selection in the 2007 preseason, making a number of tough catches, but it seems more and more like the Chiefs are edging him out. And Kolby Smith turned in the best rushing performance of 2007, and will be a big part of this offense's revival at backup RB.

The one obvious bust of 2007 is Justin Medlock, currently out of the NFL. We've spoken of him too much on this website and I won't continue the trend here. But I do suspect Turk may be a bust as well.

1-2 starters (Bowe, Tank?)
3-5 backups (Turk?, Tank?, Smith, Taylor, Allan?)
1-3 busts (Turk?, Medlock, Allan?)

2008 NFL Draft

DT Glenn Dorsey (1st), OT Branden Albert (1st), CB Brandon Flowers (2nd), RB Jamaal Charles (3rd), TE Brad Cottam (3rd), S DaJuan Morgan (3rd), WR Will Franklin (4th), CB Brandon Carr (5th), OT Barry Richardson (6th), WR Kevin Robinson (6th), DE Brian Johnston (7th), TE Michael Merritt (7th).

I'm not going to get into this Draft too deeply in this post. Mainly because we have no idea how many of them will pan out. But I will speculate on how many of them may be consistent starters and how many will be backups, and how many will bust. This is nothing but gut speculation:

6 starters (Dorsey, Albert, Flowers, Cottam, Carr, Franklin)
4 backups (Charles, Morgan, Richardson, Johnston)
2 busts (Robinson, Merritt)

This would be the greatest Draft of the Chiefs' history if it panned out this way.

The Spoils (2006-2008 Drafts)

Once again, it's important to remind you readers that this is a lot of speculation on my behalf. Feel free to speculate in your replies:

11 starters (Hali, Pollard, Croyle, Page, Bowe, Dorsey, Albert, Flowers, Cottam, Carr, Franklin)
10 backups (Stallings, Webb, Tank, Smith, Taylor, Charles, Morgan, Richardson, Johnston)
5 busts (Maxey, Turk, Medlock, Robinson, Merritt)

This is how you rebuild. And to quote Gosselin, it's nothing short of "intriguing."

Chiefs FB hopeful Oliver Hoyte scrambles as miniature versions of Andre Rison, Dante Hall, and La...

Direckshun — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:06:10 -0000

Chiefs FB hopeful Oliver Hoyte scrambles as miniature versions of Andre Rison, Dante Hall, and Larry Johnson collapse the pocket.

The Chiefs hosted a meet & greet with the community, one of four, at 18th and Vine in Kansas City. The last of the four is at the Olathe Family YMCA on Tuesday, June 3, 4-6 pm.

"I don't know what reason I would be blackballed," said Vanderjagt, who recently worked out for t...

Direckshun — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:50:38 -0000

"I don't know what reason I would be blackballed," said Vanderjagt, who recently worked out for the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs.

"If they're going to blackball somebody, then we've got some issues in society.

"I've never been arrested, I've never (had) DUIs ... I would think there would be more guys ready to be blackballed than me. The fact that I've had workouts means that 'Don't Touch Vanderjagt' isn't necessarily the situation."

Vanderjagt gets another kick at CFL -- Brantford Expositor

Free Agency -- Any Finishing Touches?

Direckshun — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:10:59 -0000

As OTAs start wrapping up soon, minicamp and River Falls on the way, we know now that 95% of the Day One roster is buried in the masses of 90-plus bodies that have shown up to OTAs in record attendance this year. This team, as young and promising and inexperienced and volatile as it is, is almost built for 2008.

But it is not completely built. As teams around the league start cutting players, the Chiefs are likely to duplicate what they did last year and scoop up a few of them (QB Tyler Thigpen, LBs Pat Thomas and Johnny Baldwin, CB Rashard Barksdale). It is impossible at this point to know who those players are.

There are a number of free agents available now, however (as Ty Law would love to remind you). Are any of those worth taking a look at, particularly at positions of need? Perhaps.

I realize that all these players have question marks. But this is a team of questions, taking a season to explore numerous options to see what's in store for the future. You've got to look for talent everywhere, and that includes the Pit of the Damned that is free agency in June.

List of players after the jump. Except for Chris Henry, who's more talented than all of them but I just absolutely hate the guy.

1. WR Koren Robinson, Packers. Age: 28.

Chris Henry is the greatest character risk in free agency. Close behind him is Koren Robinson. Robinson has faced suspensions before for DUIs, and he is an injury concern. He's also got three for five years left in this league if he rehabilitates adequately. He's also features above average speed and would be the only WR on the Chiefs to have a 1,000 season under his belt to start the season. It's fair to say that Robinson is not in Henry's league, and might be worth a shot if nobody can win that tricky slot position.

2. OT Shane Olivea, Chargers. Age: 26.

Olivea is good for one thing and one thing only: smashmouth run-blocking. He used to be a phenomenal right tackle for the Chargers, but for reasons that are unknown to me, his play declined (Chiefs fans remember Hali essentially owning Olivea the last couple seasons), and he's been released by the Chargers. To my absolute surprise, nobody is biting on him. Now he does have a bit of an injury history, but he is too young to stay out of the league for long. The Chiefs are going smashmouth now, and it might be worth examining Olivea to see if he can fit.

3. MLB Odell Thurman, Bengals. Age: 25.

Odell Thurman was a talented young linebacker for the Bengals who had all the promise of a long career. But like all Bengals, Thurman was a character concern to the nth degree, being essentially kicked out of the league for various reasons for two years. Having been reinstated, the Bengals questioned his work ethic to get back onto the field when he apparently skipped a practice to go to a close family member's funeral. Harsh. Nonetheless, Thurman's undersized and fast, and perfect for the Chiefs' Cover 2. If the worst is behind him (god knows if it is) and if he's in proper shape (god knows if he is), he could be a cheap acquisition this late in the offseason.

4. QB Byron Leftwich, Falcons. Age: 28.

We're all familiar with Leftwich's amazing fall from grace after losing his starting job in Jacksonville. In his limited time as the Falcon's stopgap, he raised no eyebrows. But Leftwich was a commodity in this league at one point. He is a strong quarterback, he was accomplished at some point, and is still fairly young. Of the pathetic QB crop left over in free agency at this point, he is bar none the best option, and at this point would happily sign somewhere for peanuts. Leftwich would easily be the #2 on this team.

5. DT Ethan Kelley, Browns. Age: 28.

Kelley was a full-time starter for the Browns last year, but due to durability concerns and a juicy trade market this offseason for DTs, Kelley has been left to the wayside while the Browns make a push for the playoffs. Kelley is your traditional run-stuffer, a gigantic 330 lbs, so his place in this defense is questionable. But the Chiefs have an iffy DT rotation right now, and Kelley could provide insurance as a backup, and a golden player to have around in goal-line situations and obvious run situations.